Boot and shoe



I. lE. ROBERTS.

BOOT AND SHOE.

APPLICATION FILED Ammo, 1919.

Patented Mar. l1

. innersole and upper,

UNITED STATES PATENTv oFFlcE.

FRANK E. ROBERTS, 0F LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY IRIECI` AND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, T0 GOTHAM PROCESS SHANK, ING.,v A CORPORATION 0F MASSA- CHUSETTS.

Boor ANn sHoE.

Application filed August 20, 1919. Serial No. 318,771.

T 0 all who/m, t may concern Be it known that I, F RANK E. ROBERTS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lynn, in the county of Essex and S'tate of Massachusetts, have invented certaln new and useful Improvements in Boots and Shoes, of which the following is a specltcation.

My invention relates to boots and shoes and has reference particularly to the construction and method of making the soles thereof.

It has been the practice to mold the outersoles of boots and shoes, particularly womens boots and shoes, so as to form a sharply defined angle or lcorner extendlng across the sole at the junction of the shank with the fore-part, that is, just back of the ball of the foot, so as to give a pronounced arch to the shank that starts upwardly abruptly from the rear end of the fore-part. Also it has been common tor mold the shank of the outersole so that itv was of flattish V-shape in cross-section with a medial ridge or corner upon the exterior thereof extending from.the first mentioned corner or angle at the rear of the fore-part to the breast of the heel. This peculiar molding of the outersole has the advantage of improving the appearance of the boot or shoe and also of stiifening'the shank.

Heretofore the outersole has been molded to this shape by means of dies before incorporation in the shoe and while the sole was in the form of a more or less rectangular blank. After being thus molded the sole blank was placed in position on the lasted sewed in place and trimmed. Because of the fact that the sole was in the form of an untrimmed blank and hid the upper and innersole from view when placed in position upon the latter, it was impossible for the shoemaker to accurately position the, sole, particularly the shank portion thereof, so that it very frequently happened that it was misplaced and when the outersole was trimmed the medial longitudinal ridge of the shank would be positioned nearer one side of the shoe than 'the' other which was highly objectionable. Another objectionable feature was that outeri soles molded in this fashion before being applied to the shoe did not hold their molded 'shape as long as desirable.

My invention has for its object to improve the construction of boots and shoes of the class described and Fto provide a new method of making boots and shoes of this kind. Also, it is the 'object of my invention to obrviate the above noted objectionable features of the construction and method f making boots and shoes of this kind heretofore employed. 'I

The invention consists of a boot or shoe of the character described having the peculiar features of construction set forth in the following description and particularly pointed out and defined in the claims at the close thereof. The invention further consists of l the new method hereinafter set forth and boots and shoes of the Figure l is a perspective view of a womans shoe constructed in accordance with my invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a womans shoe constructed in accordance witlrmy invention. but illustrating additional features of the latter. l

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the forepart of the outcrsole showing my new bolstering member in place thereon.

Fig. 4 is a section on line 4-4 of Fig. 2,.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one form of bolstering member employed by me.

Fig. (5 is a perspective View of another foi-1n of bolstering member.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a member of another kind. l

Having reference to the drawings, 1 represents the upper of a Goodyear welt shoe, 2 the welt, 3 the innersole, 4 the outersole, and 5 the usual shank 'stiffenen In manufacturing la shoe of the kind shown, the upper, innersole and welt are assembled on the last and sewed together and then the vouter-sole in the form of an untrimmed blank is placed in position by the operatorand sewed tothe welt.. In preparing the outersoles for shoes of this kind the more or less rectangular blanks are tem-l pered and molded to shape between dies, the sole being bent transversely and sharply at the junction of the shank with the forepart so as to provide a sharply defined angle or corner extending somewhat obliquely. across the sole at the rear of the forepart as indicated at 6 in Fig 1. Sometimes, also, the shank 7. is molded by the dies so as to bolstering Patented Mal-.1., 1921.`

construction was objectionable for the reason that it was practically impossible for the shoe maker to accurately position the loutersole so that the fold or corner 6 would occupy its proper position with relation to the ball of the shoe, and so that the ridge 8 would occupy its proper position midway between the side edges of the shank when the outersole was trimmed. Moreover, this old method of construction left cavities between the outersole and innersole, particularly beneath the ridge 8 so that after comparatively short use the sole would lose its molded shape. I'

In constructing the shoe of Fig. 1 the upper and innersole are lasted and sewed together as usual after which the usual filler 10 is spread over the fore-part of the innersole between the edges of the upper. Inext place upon the innersole, immediately at the rear of the filler 10, abolster member 9, Fig. 3, said bolster extending more or less obliquely across the sole at the rear of the fore-part thereof. An unmolded outersole blank is then placed in position and sewed to the upper and welt in the usual fashion after whichl the outersole is trimmed. The outer] sole is then beaten down, this beating down usually being effected by subjecting said sole to the action of a shaping machine. When the outersole is thus beaten down it is not only shaped to the last but also bent or folded sharply around the bolster member 9, the lattenproducing a sharply defined bend or corner 6 upon the exterior of the sole corresponding in shape and position to the shape and position of the bolster member. It will thus be seen that a ,distinguishing `feature of my invention consists in incorporating in the shoe between the innersole and the outersole, means' for effecting the shaping or molding of the outersole when the latter is beaten down against the last, and as will be clear the advantage to this is that the bend or corner 6 can be accurately positioned and shaped as desired.

When it is desired to form the shank of the outersole with a medial ridge extending from the bend or corner 6 to the breast of vthe heel, as in Fig 2, another bolster in the form of a stem 11 is placed in position on the shank of the innersole lengthwise of the latter andA midway between the side edges thereof, said bolster 11 being curved or bent longitudinally to accord with the arch of saidshank, and of a length to eX-v tend from the bolster 9 to the breast of the heel. When the outersole is beaten down the shank portion thereof is given a `Vshape in crpsssecton displaying a sharply de- 'lined ridge at the middlel of the shank. eX-

tending from the bend or cornerl to the breast of the heel as shown in Figs. '2 and 4f When the shoe, constructed in accordance with my invention, is subjected to use the bolster and outersole shaping members 9 and 11 serve to support the outersole at the corner 6 and ridge 8 so that those parts of the sole keep their shape much longer than heretofore.

The shaping holsters 9 and 11 may be made from any suitable material but preferably of some pliablematerial which4 can be bent to the desired shape and which is somewhat yielding or compressible as rubber. In practice I have found ordinary electric light wire made from copper and covered with rubber insulation to be an excelsupports the sole sufiiciently against the beating down pressure to effect the desired molding thereof.

The two bolster members 9 and 11 may be 'separate pieces of wire asshown in Fig. 6, or if desired, the two may be united by fusing or cementing the end of the covering 13 of member 11 to the covering `134of mem# ber 9 near the in Fig. 7.

That I claim is:

Iniddle of the latter as shown 1. The method of making boots and shoes of the class described which consists in first assembling the upper and innersole upon a last; then placing a bolstering member in position upon the innersole immediately at the rear of the fore-part 'of the latter; then securing the outersole in place, andlastly, beating down the outersole so that the bolstering member is utilized to shape the said outersole.

2. The method of making boots and shoes of the class described which consists i'n incorporating an outersole shaping member in the boot or shoe between the innersole and the outersole while those parts are being assembled on a last, and thereafter beating down the outersole so as to cause said member to shape said outersole.

3. Themethod of making boots and shoes of the class described which consists in incorporating an outersole bolstering member in the boot or shoe between the innersole andthe outersole while those parts are being assembled ou a last, said member'heing tioned immediately at the rear of the fore part of the boot or shoe, and thereafter beatlng down the outersole sb as to cause sald member to shape -said outersole.

4. The method of making boots and shoes of the class described which consists in incorporating an outersole bolstering member in the boot or shoe between the innersole and the outersole while those parts are being assembled o n a last, said member being positioned immediately at the rear of the forepart of the boot or shoe and extending crosswise thereof, and thereafter beating down the outersoleA so asto cause said member to produce a sharply defined bend in said outersole extending across the latter at the rear n of the forepart;

5. The method of making boots and shoes of the`class described which consists in incorporating outersole bolstering and shaping means in the boot or shoe between the innersole and the outersole while those parts 'are being assembled on a last, said means extending across the boot or shoe at the rear end of the fore-part and lengthwise of thel shoe from the rear end of the forepart to the breast of the heel, and thereafter beating down the outersole so as to cause said means to produce a sharply defined transverse bend at the rear end of the fore-part of said outersole and give to the shank of said outersole a V-shape in cross-section with a sharply defined median ridge upon the exterior thereof. v

6. A boot or shoe of the class described comprising an innersole; an outersole, and outer sole bolstering means between said soles for imparting a definite shape to theA outersole lwhen the latter is beaten down, said bolstering means producing a sharply defined bend inl said outer sole.

7. A boot or shoe of the class described comprising an innersole; an outersole, and a bolstering member consisting of a length of pliable metal wire having a covering of rubber or the like, said bolstering memberl being arranged between said two soles and extending transversely thereof so that when the outersole isbeaten down said I nember causes a sharply defined bend to be produced in said outersole extending along the line of junction of the fore-part of sald outersole with the shank thereof.

8. A boot or shoe of the class described comprising an innersole; an outersole; an'd outersole shaping means arranged betlween said two soles consisting of a length of pliable metal wire having a covering of rubber or the like and disposedcrosswlse of said outersole along the line of junction of the fore-part and shank thereof', and a length of liable metal wire having a covering of rub er or the line disposed lengthwise of said outersole at the middle of the shank of the latter and extending from said first mentioned length of wire to near the breast of .the heel of the shoe, said lengths of covered wire serving to shape the outersole when the latter is beaten down.

9. A bootor shoe of the class' described comprising an innersole; an outersole; a bolstering member arranged between said soles and extending transversely thereof along the line of junction of the fore-part of the outersole with the shank thereof to produce a sharply defined bend in said outersole along the line of said junction when the outersole 

